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Links between use of antidepressants and harmful levels of cholesterol revealed
13 February 2023
Use of antidepressants is significantly associated with adverse lipid profiles, including higher levels of harmful types of cholesterol, a study by UCL researchers has revealed.
Raised lipid (cholesterol) levels are an important cardiovascular risk factor, particularly for people with a severe mental illness, and can contribute to premature death.
Using data from UK Biobank, researchers from UCL’s Division of Psychiatry studied the use of antidepressant and antipsychotic medications in almost half a million people and the different lipid levels associated with them.
The types of lipids profiled included harmful ones such as triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, as well as cholesterol considered to have positive health effects, such as high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C).
Each antidepressant studied was associated with worse levels of each lipid, while antipsychotics were associated with lower HDL-C and higher triglycerides.
The results are important because adverse lipid levels contribute to poor health in people with mental illnesses, yet they are not currently routinely monitored in people prescribed antidepressants, despite widespread use.
The study also covered whether CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 genes influence any such associations. These genes were investigated because they are involved in how the body processes antidepressant and antipsychotic medications and their level of function varies across different people.
The Wellcome Trust-funded study suggested that a lower “intermediate” level of CYP2C19 function may be protective for some lipids in people taking the antidepressant sertraline.
Study author, Alvin Richards-Belle, a PhD student in UCL’s Division of Psychiatry, said: “Antidepressants were prescribed to over 8.3 million people in England in the most recent year and are effective for many in treating depression and anxiety symptoms. However, we have shown that they are also associated with side effects on lipid levels, which impact physical health. It is therefore very important that physical health is monitored closely in people taking antidepressants.”